The record/reproduce head, as well as the guide poles and rollers in the travelling path of a "magnetic recording apparatus" in service such as an audio cassette recorder or video recorder are cleaned by a leader tape joined to the end of the magnetic tape. The cleaning layer of the conventional leader tape is made by spreading an inorganic pigment such as alumina (Al.sub.2 O.sub.3), silicon carbide (SiC), chromium oxide (Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3), titanium oxide (TiO), and red oxide (alpha-Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3) on a base together with a binder. The cleaning layer obtained has adequate cleaning ability but since its polishing effect is too great, the head or guide poles are often damaged by abrasion, and so is the blade of a tape slitter or tape splicer.
To prevent these defects, a method has been proposed to provide the base with a matted surface by sand blasing rather than by a polishing agent (see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 42726/74). However, the surface of the base cannot be roughened beyond a certain extent by this method, and very often, the breaking strength of the base is decreased. A leader tape is known that comprises a base having formed thereon a cleaning layer. The cleaning layer is comprised of a particulate inorganic pigment of a size of 0.002 to 4.mu. and held by a known binder (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 7631/80). This leader tape has great cleaning effect but the hard inorganic pigment particles sometimes damage the head surface when they polish the head, and the resulting scars in turn damage the magnetic tape reducing tape sensitivity and S/N ratio.